Sticker
by Hollyflash
Summary: He put the sticker as a sign of hope on his son's suit, so that maybe the boy wouldn't be as much of a failure as Jack Fenton himself was.


Woo, I have no clue what hole I pulled this idea out of.

* * *

Sticker

Jack Fenton was in the lab that he and his wife had turned their basement into; questioning everything he thought he knew.

Their Ghost Portal hadn't worked. It had failed.

That would've been bad in and of itself, as bad as discovering that one's life work was for nothing and had done nothing but cause pain to those around them could be, but what made it so much worse was the fact that his son had been there, watching, ready to open his eyes to the supernatural world.

But the portal hadn't worked. Jack had not missed the wonder that had disappeared from his son's eyes as the portal failed, and how the teen had watched and Jack and his wife had left the lab with a look of sympathy.

That had been several hours ago. Now Danny was asleep in bed, as was his sister, Jazz. Jack wondered if his wife Maddie was too, but only briefly. Soon his attention was turned back to thoughts of his son as Jack found what he had been looking for; Danny's own white jumpsuit.

Each year, every member of the family got a new jumpsuit. They were always the same; each had black boots, gloves, and belt, but the main color scheme changed slightly with each family member. Jack's was orange, Maddie's was teal, Jazz's was pink, and Danny's was white.

As Jack gripped his son's suit, he fought back tears. What was the point of this? When would it be used? Ever since they had started building the Fenton Ghost Portal when he was eight, Danny had come into the lab a total of maybe twenty times. He never wore his jumpsuit to school, saying things like "Just because you and Mom really like jumpsuits doesn't mean I have to too." when asked if he would.

But maybe, in time, Danny would find a use for his white hazmat suit.

With that thought in his mind, Jack allowed a small smile as he pulled something from one of his jumpsuit's pockets. It was a sticker of his face six years ago, when he had still been full of hope and wonder. He unrolled it, peeled off the back, and stuck it on the front of Danny's suit. It took a moment of messing around with the zipper, but Jack did manage to make it so that while the sticker would be cut in half upon unzipping it, when the suit would be fully on his son the sticker would be just fine.

Jack gave the suit a sad smile as he hung it back up and moved slowly out of the lab.

That sticker was a sign of hope. There was the hope that Jack had held of being a success, hope that his dreams would come true, hope that the world would remember him, and hope for a good life for his family.

Jack didn't have that hope anymore. He didn't need the sticker.

He switched off the lab's light and made his way up the stairs. Though his hope was gone, his son's was not. Danny was a good kid, even if he was a tad forgetful at times which led to Jack having to do his chores.

There was still hope for him having a bright future.

So Jack had placed the sticker on his son's suit as a sign of hope, so that maybe the boy wouldn't as much of a failure as Jack Fenton himself was. Danny could do something with his life, and Jack knew he would. He knew his kind, slightly shy, witty, loyal son would go places with the hope that Jack no longer had. The boy wanted to be an astronaut, and Jack was sure Danny would without ghosts weighing him down. Tomorrow, Jack would tell Maddie that though he still enjoyed learning about ghosts, the Ghost Zone portal attempts had caused nothing but pain. If they took it down, they could spend more time with their children instead of focusing on ghosts. Maddie would protest, Jack knew she would, but after a few months the Fenton Ghost Portal would be nothing but a bad memory. She'd see sense.

Honestly, Jack didn't want to abandon his life's work either, but he no longer had hope that it would succeed. He had given all his hope to his son, as was signified by the passing of a sticker.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Sam Manson had been ecstatic when her friend Danny had finally invited her and their friend Tucker over to his house to see the newly completed Fenton Ghost Portal. So what if it hadn't worked? They had only tried to turn it on yesterday; maybe there was just a misplaced wire or something. The trio had waited for nearly half an hour after Danny's parents had left to go to the store or something like that. Sam had picked the lab's locked door, taken a picture of Danny holding his very own jumpsuit, and convinced him to go inside the portal and check it out.

Sam watched with a smile as Danny pulled on his white jumpsuit, but her smile faltered as he zipped it up.

"Hold on..." She sighed, and pulled the sticker of his father's face from the chest of Danny's jumpsuit. "You can't go walking around with that on your chest." _A sticker of his face? Wow, Danny's dad is so egotistical. _She crumpled up the sticker and threw it over her shoulder, watching Danny as he entered the portal. _Seriously, who puts their face on their kid's jumpsuit? Wow, Danny's dad must be some kind of selfish moron._

* * *

This is what happens when I over think things. Sam becomes a jerk and a joke becomes a sign of hope. If you couldn't tell, this takes place right before the portal accident.

So… Opinions, anyone?


End file.
